Could this be a TIKI party room?

Argh, I'm finally making some good dough and would jump on this and any other nice mod offering in Glenbrook, but I'm not single...almost engaged actually. And she absolutely hates anything mod, argh!

Sigh...I could really do something with that one (and the many other listings there)!

[ Edited by: Deckhand_Davy 2008-08-11 15:14 ]

Dang Robert, you're really pumping out the best homes in Glenbrook! This one off of 8015 Arletta is awesome and has some sweet potential.

On 2008-08-03 09:43, txmod wrote:
We are really seeing some of the inexpensive mods pop up in Glenbrook in the southern section of the hood. I have been fretting over this one, but I think it landed in good hands, it just went pending. For a whopping $65,000 list (who knows what they talked them down to on actual sales price). A great albeit in bad shape, mid-century modern that was part of the 1956 Parade of Homes show, and was designed by a Mel O'Brien, a Rice educated Architect who went on to get his Masters from Princeton and opened his own firm in Memphis, Tenn. in 1963. He was very successful there. So the house has a sort of architectural pedigree and great design, for less than what some people spend on a high end SUV.

$65,000....in 2008 ????????

Are you serious ?

I know, that house needs everything done to it, but still, $65k is obscene. We have targeted that street to be the first part of the nabe as a historic district, I hope we can get that done.

As for the other one on Arletta, the owners bought it with the intention of tearing it down. I am hoping it sells before they go back to "plan A" on that one.

The $65,000 one got a really nice young couple that bought it. Wasn't one of my deals but I heard about it. They are friends of the Kimbles that they interviewed in a nice little article on the hood (yes, yet another one) in the Chronicle last week. (see below), So I think that $65k one will end up okay.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/east/news/5929897.html

the Kimbles house was one of the original 6 model homes and has suffered everything from flippers to fires before they restored it. A couple of these pics are from the article in the above link, and the "before" ones, which pre-date the fire in the house in 2007, are ones I had from 2004.

Wow, they really did the right things on that house. Really nice.

Ugh, the abomination continues. The very first house on this thread, the one with the neat ballroom with the cool monkey pod wood dividers/banisters, well unfortunately it is clearly in the wrong hands.

Today I drove by and noticed their latest "home improvement" of taking out those pesky big picture windows and replacing them with 6 over 6 Home Cheapo numbers. Yuk!

bump -

This is just too good not to share. The old fascist of the neighborhood, T.C. Burton, that was discussed earlier in this thread with his Confederate flags and shrines to George Wallace, apparently has met his match with the new neighbors across the street. Gotta love their Halloween decorations facing off against T.C.'s stars and bars.

On 2008-08-11 21:18, tikiyaki wrote:
$65,000....in 2008 ????????

Are you serious ?

Y'all startin' to understand what I mean when i say life is GREAT in Houston??

Great jobs, cheap housing, amazing arts - the list goes on.

If you can put up with traffic (like LA), humidity (like South Florida) and chihuahua-sized cockroaches (like, uh, a horror film), you will thrive here.

Thriving and still jonesing for one of these homes if they just weren't the wrong direction from my job, dammit,
F

Never say never, I just haven't gotten the right bait for you yet, Formikahini, however, that could change very, very soon.....

Bumping an antique thread. The house that started this thread on page 1 with the party room and monkey pod accents is coming up this week as a foreclosure. It has been abused, although the wood you see on the stairwell did survive. The pecky cypress paneling going up the stairs, unfortunately no, they plastered over it.

At any rate, this 4100 sq ft party palace with a pool will be on the market soon, I expect probably in the $150k range. We are also one hearing away from becoming Texas' first mid-century historic district. That has been a huge battle. The people opposed to it have accused us of everything short of sacrificing babies on our patios. Hopefully we will get the protections and it will help boost the neighborhood.

the little green boom-a-rang mod in the above pic also got new owners that are embarking on a complete restoration. So that is one for the win column. Hopefully the party room one will be another one.

http://search.har.com/engine/8103-Glen-Valley-Dr-Houston-TX-77061_HAR82424891.htm

Here is a link to the foreclosure listing. The house has been beat up pretty bad and the pictures are not that good, which doesn't help. On page 2 of the thread is a pic of the front before they messed up that one section. I don't know what they were thinking.

Here is a an old photo of the front (before they messed it up)

[ Edited by: txmod 2011-03-18 11:57 ]

You know what they were thinking -- new "traditional style" windows will make it (A) "pretty" or (B) easier to clean/more energy efficient (even if the rest of the house is a heating and cooling sieve).

More new homeowners kill the aesthetics of their home simply trying to make it something it is not. MCN or any other type of house.

And my Californian/Asian/Mod house had gold and purple striped wallpaper and 8' composite Corinthian columns in the living room and entry hall added to it in the early 80s. Looked like low-rent Miami drug lord. And those were the first things to go, after I filmed a new episode of Miami Vice.

GK

I think they wanted to be able to hang a window unit out of the front window and the former windows wouldn't accomodate it. It was like they sat up nights thinking of what is the next stupid thing we can do to this place?
We are very close to having our historic district designation finalized. Had it been in place back when, they wouldn't have been able to mess it up like that.

[ Edited by: txmod 2011-03-25 19:56 ]

[ Edited by: txmod 2011-03-25 20:04 ]

Price drop to $167,000. I hope someone steps up to save it.

Reduced to $149,900

Bump - for those who have followed this thread before and all the great mid-century houses, Glenbrook Valley has now become a protected historic district. They had the vote today and it was finally approved.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7631204.html

Mazel tov on that!

Happy happy happy news, that!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!
(Now back to hoping that it actually does some good, she said cynically :roll: )
F

Shag-a-riffic!!!!! thats way cool, add a couple tiki statues and Id say yes :)

On 2011-03-08 17:51, txmod wrote:
Bumping an antique thread. The house that started this thread on page 1 with the party room and monkey pod accents is coming up this week as a foreclosure. It has been abused, although the wood you see on the stairwell did survive. The pecky cypress paneling going up the stairs, unfortunately no, they plastered over it.

At any rate, this 4100 sq ft party palace with a pool will be on the market soon, I expect probably in the $150k range. We are also one hearing away from becoming Texas' first mid-century historic district. That has been a huge battle. The people opposed to it have accused us of everything short of sacrificing babies on our patios. Hopefully we will get the protections and it will help boost the neighborhood.

the little green boom-a-rang mod in the above pic also got new owners that are embarking on a complete restoration. So that is one for the win column. Hopefully the party room one will be another one.

The craggy wood shown in the pictures of this home (first post) certainly looks like
manzanita. In California this is often a throw-away wood because it splits easily and
is full of grit that damages saws and drills.

[ Edited by: kraken 2011-07-09 21:10 ]

Bumping an antique thread instead of starting a new one. An update on the latest fate of the big party house that started the thread. It went up as a foreclosure and by that time, was in far worse condition than the photos at the beginning of the thread. Very little left salvageable. The people that had it before couldn't have been rougher on it if it had been a frat house or something. Tore up from the floor up. To make matters worse, when they did try to "improve" things, we ended up with stuff like the reconfiguration of the brick and windows on the front.
'

Ugh.

It has been purchased by someone with the money and where-with-all to salvage it. They have gutted it, which I am generally opposed to, but there was little left to salvage so I guess it was time for this house to get a new vision. They did put the pink roman brick back on the front and reinstall the big picture windows in the front back like it had originally, so now it looks like the original pictures. That is a huge improvement. The new owners didn't feel the love for the wood so the sister, who is more mod-appreciative, salvaged the wood, (whatever it is) and is moving it to her new old house in the neighborhood. So it all ends well.

I have a new one up that needs the right new owner. It is very original and retains all its mod glory. I will get better pics done latter part of next week, these are kind of weak, but you get the idea. It has a 40' round rotunda living room, I know one of you all need that! It is centered around a a round flagstone fireplace. It has a domed ceiling in the rotunda and poured terrazzo around the rear portion with flagstone walls. The bathrooms are spectacular. Tax rolls list it at over 4600 sq ft on one level. It is beyond swank.

Entry hall

Round rotunda living room

Other side

Raised portion at the rear

One of two bar type openings to the rotunda

Formal dining

Master bedroom

http://harlistings.marketlinx.com/SearchDetail/Scripts/PrtBuyFul/PrtBuyFul.asp?emailGUID=9f006f12-a985-4dcd-9206-7b7cbbcf3adc&AgentId=trucks

Somebody needs to save this one!

[ Edited by: txmod 2012-05-26 21:07 ]

OMG! If anyone touches any of those details they need their hands cut off! That house is perfect!

Truly a very nice home, but there is so much more potential there in the hands of an inspired and caring tikiphile. My mind was racing as I looked at the photos...

That's why I am puttin' out there in Tikicentral land!

Got a full set of new pics done. http://harlistings.marketlinx.com/SearchDetail/Scripts/PrtBuyFulPhoto/PrtBuyFulPhoto.asp?emailGUID=a1774c0f-44bb-47c7-b32a-e6d19fea4497&AgentId=trucks

Just a couple of updates on some of these. This one just got featured in Houston House and Home for September. It's on the cover. If you flip through the on-line magazine version, there are some great pictures. including the "Kit Kat Lounge" upstairs. There is mention on page 8 and then the article starts on page 56.

http://issuu.com/houstonhouseandhome/docs/0912_houhousehome_vir?mode=window&backgroundColor#222222

There is a good set of pics and write up by Pam with retro renovation on the house with the round room, which just landed in good hands.
http://retrorenovation.com/2012/05/31/swankienda-indeed-1957-time-capsule-house-in-historic-houston-first-time-on-the-market-24-photos/

Two doors down, the "Sputnik House" also landed in sympathetic hands.

http://retrorenovation.com/2012/07/25/1957-sputnik-house-midcentury-modern-time-capsulehouse-in-houstons-glenbrook-neighborhood/

That first home is very well appointed. The second home...not so much. Of course the Sputnik house is totally gorgeous. Thanks for your great posts, very enjoyable.

Yes, the second house is fabulous. One of the sellers had a vision for the house, and her heart was definitely in the right place, but life and health issues had gotten in the way & she never got to do what she wanted with it.

[ Edited by: txmod 2012-09-10 00:00 ]

Another update. The pic of the cool mod house at the bottom of page 7 of the thread, that one just came out of rehab. The new owners restored it and now are in the process of bit by bit, still trying to acquire the right pieces of furniture for it. They won an award from Preservation Houston and the house was featured on a local site. Be sure and look at the photo gallery on the link.

http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/12-18-12-vintage-mod-house-rises-from-dead-after-decades-of-neglect-1950s-intercom-wet-bar-return/

Every now and then we win one.

Love the shots of it lit up at night. That's when MCM houses look their best!

Bump again the antique thread. This Old House names the mod hood a top ten pick. http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/09/houston-subdivision-named-a-top-old-neighborhood/?cmpid=hpts

Love that Kit Kat Lounge!!!

Bumping a totally antique thread, but it seems like it makes more sense to keep all the info on one thread. There is a mid-mod home tour planned for October 1st and 2nd, 12:00 - 4:00 in Houston's Glenbrook Valley. Tickets are $30 and will raise funds for a new mid-century marker for the neighborhood. Tickets can be purchased in advance on-line at http://www.glenbrookvalley.org There will also be ticket booths set up the day(s) of the event at the corner of Santa Elena and Glen Valley and the corner of Colgate and Lakewind.

There will be 6 very cool houses open, including the one with the "Kit Kat Lounge." They tried to get some variety, so while at least 4 are more time capsule, a couple are more updated, but they are all interesting houses. The art deco 1940 air terminal museum is supposed to participate and be open as part of the tour as well.

There is also an instagram account set up now for the hood, https://www.instagram.com/glenbrookvalley/ and a cool photo blog on the glenbrookvalley.org site as well. There is also a Facebook page for the event https://www.facebook.com/events/324962521179406/